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"The most important thing is that we start discussions on the Pact on a solid basis that takes everyone’s concerns into account. The wounds of 2016 are still fresh and we need to start with everyone around the table."

Speech by Vice-President Schinas on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum

By: EBR | Thursday, September 24, 2020

This is an important moment The Pact on Migration and Asylum we are presenting today has been a long time in the making

The updated risk assessment shows that notification rates have increased steadily across the EU and the UK since August, and that the measures taken have not always been sufficient to reduce or control exposure.

The EU updated risk assessment

By: EBR | Thursday, September 24, 2020

Coronavirus: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control’s new risk assessment shows need to step up coronavirus response in the EU

At the moment, the main aim is to develop intelligent charging stations for electric cars. “Our vision is that the charging station of the future will have this measurement technology integrated.”

Intelligent electricity through EU structural funds

By: EBR | Wednesday, September 23, 2020

A major challenge in the spread of renewable energies is their unpredictability: supply and demand do not always match in time. To compensate for this, researchers in Bielefeld are working on artificial intelligence that distributes electricity differently, depending on the weather

As an ancillary, SURE could also finance some health-related measures, in particular at the work place, used to ensure a safe return to normal economic activity.

SURE: financial support to help protect jobs and workers affected by the pandemic

By: EBR | Tuesday, September 22, 2020

The Commission welcomes the activation of the SURE instrument, which will provide up to €100 billion in financial support to help protect jobs and workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

"If the grand recovery plan is to work, the old way of doing things will have to be upended".

Will everyone play ball for ‘operation recovery’?

By: EBR | Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Ursula von der Leyen pulled off a bravura performance last week; there was grit, emotion, empathy and integrity in her delivery

In France, they call mayors like Hidalgo ‘Khmers verts’, the ‘green Khmers’.

The follies of French ecological mayors

By: N. Peter Kramer | Monday, September 21, 2020

Elected in June, the new ‘ecologist’ mayors in France are trying to put their stamp on the daily life of their communes

"Ever since the UK decided to leave the EU, the key interest of the EU has been to preserve the internal cohesion of the EU’s 27 remaining members."

Boris Breaks the Divorce Treaty: What Can the EU Do?

By: EBR | Friday, September 18, 2020

The ways in which the EU can put pressure on a UK that is going rogue are very limited — and potentially vast at the same time

"The Recovery and Resilience Facility is at the very heart of NextGenerationEU. It is our key tool to turn the immediate challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic into a long-term opportunity."

Commission presents next steps for Recovery and Resilience Facility

By: EBR | Thursday, September 17, 2020

NextGenerationEU: Commission presents next steps for €672.5 billion Recovery and Resilience Facility in 2021 Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy

"We are doing everything in our power to keep the promise that we made to Europeans: make Europe the first climate neutral continent in the world, by 2050..."

Commission raises climate ambition and proposes 55% cut in emissions by 2030

By: EBR | Thursday, September 17, 2020

The European Commission presented today its plan to reduce EU greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels

“What we urgently need to see next is an ambitious implementation of the recovery package focussed on achieving a green and digital transition, with the European Green Deal at its core and an elevated short-term emissions reduction target in its sights”.

Business leaders back EU’s draft 55% carbon target for 2030

By: EBR | Tuesday, September 15, 2020

More than 150 business leaders and investors have urged EU countries to set higher climate goals for 2030, backing a draft European Commission plan to aim for a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade

“We cannot create a situation where we give our companies free allowances, basically letting them pollute, and then imports of the very same goods are subject to levies, additional payments, based on the fact that they are polluting.”

EU to withdraw free CO2 pollution credits to clear way for carbon border tax

By: EBR | Tuesday, September 15, 2020

The European Commission plans to withdraw free allowances given to polluting industries under the EU’s emission trading system (ETS) in order to clear the way for their inclusion in the bloc’s upcoming carbon border adjustment mechanism, the EU executive’s vice-president, Valdis Dombrovskis, said on Monday (14 September)

The meeting provided an opportunity to follow up on discussions at the 22nd EU-China Summit (22 June).

EU-China Leaders’ Meeting: Upholding EU values and interests at the highest level

By: EBR | Monday, September 14, 2020

The European Union and China held a Leaders’ Meeting via videoconference on 14 September 2020. An EU-China Leaders’ meeting with the participation of leaders of all EU member states was initially scheduled to take place on this date

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to advocate an increase of “at least 55%” during her first State of the Union annual address to the European Parliament next week.

EU lawmakers up the ante, vote for 60% climate target for 2030

By: EBR | Friday, September 11, 2020

The European Parliament’s environment committee has voted for a new EU-wide target to reduce carbon emissions 60% by 2030, setting the stage for tough negotiations with EU countries and the European Commission, which is expected to propose a 55% goal next week

"An internal market bill put forward by the British government on September 9, 2020, suggests that 10 Downing Street may not stand by the terms of its withdrawal agreement with the EU, agreed in January, prompting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to remind the UK that it is “legally obliged” to respect its international commitments."

European Foreign Policy After Brexit

By: EBR | Friday, September 11, 2020

The rapidly eroding trust between the UK and the EU casts a dark shadow over the future of European foreign policy cooperation. But as the eventful summer of 2020 has shown, that cooperation is much needed

“There is no comprehensive risk analysis, and this leads us towards the question if the EU is driving blind towards China. It certainly appears that we are sailing with no compass, as we found no formalised comprehensive analysis of the risks and opportunities for the EU on China’s investment strategy.”

EU nations breaking rules in bilateral trade deals with China

By: EBR | Thursday, September 10, 2020

Fifteen EU member states have breached bloc-wide rules in agreeing bilateral commercial deals with China as part of Beijing’s ambitious belt and road initiative (BRI), according to a damning report published by the European Court of Auditors on Thursday (10 September)

“I believe that Europe is in a position to lead the way on regulation,” said Valdis Dombrovskis, the Commission vice-president for financial services in comments made back in June.

LEAK: EU to create ‘superbody’ of watchdogs to oversee digital currencies

By: EBR | Thursday, September 10, 2020

The EU will set up a new college of supervisors, including national and European authorities, to oversee “significant” digital currencies including Facebook’s Libra, according to the European Commission’s cryptocurrency draft proposal

“It’s kind of a vicious circle. Conflict destroys the natural resources of countries – and scarcity, in turn, leads to further conflicts”.

Ecology threats likely to send more climate refugees towards Europe by 2050

By: EBR | Wednesday, September 9, 2020

More than a billion people are at risk of being displaced by 2050 due to rapid population growth, shortage of food and water and increased exposure to natural disasters, which could lead to increased migration flows to Europe, according to a new report by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP)

“Instead of talking to the people of Belarus, the outgoing leadership is trying cynically [to] eliminate [them] one by one. The kidnapping of M. Kalesnikava [sic] in downtown . . . Minsk is a disgrace. Stalinist NKVD methods are being applied in 21st century’s Europe. She must be released immediately,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said.

Europe Divided Over Belarus’s Future

By: EBR | Wednesday, September 9, 2020

The people of Belarus are peacefully demonstrating for their freedom. The EU’s member states, along with the United States, should do much more to support them

«Hydrogen is especially required for those sectors where electricity and batteries are not sufficient to decarbonise. These include heavy road traffic, aviation and shipping as well as the production of high-temperature heat in industrial processes, such as the steel, cement and the chemical industry.»

How to realise our hydrogen economy (instead of dreaming about it)

By: EBR | Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Considering the limited amount of green hydrogen available, the European Commission should prioritise its use in sectors that cannot decarbonise through other means like electrification